Muslim prayer hall in Corsica attacked

A crowd attacked a Muslim prayer hall in Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, ransacked it and tried to burn copies of the Holy Quran in apparent retaliation for an attack on firefighters in the French Mediterranean island.

About 600 people gathered in the city to express support for two firefighters and a police officer injured on Thursday, local police said.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls condemned the attack and described it as an “unacceptable desecration".

The French Council of the Muslim Faith also denounced the violence.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve pledged that the perpetrators of both the attack on the emergency services and the Muslim prayer hall would be identified and arrested.

He also stressed that there was no place for "racism and xenophobia" in France.
France has beefed up security measures for the Christmas holidays, following the 13 November attacks in Paris by Islamic militants that left 130 people dead.